The great attraction of Cordova is its mosque,--once, second only to that of Mecca. It is curious, but not beautiful or striking; the interest arises chiefly from the knowledge we obtain from it of the structure and interior of a mosque. Divested of this interest, it is a labyrinth of small pillars, without order or elegance: the area is indeed immensely large, being no less than five hundred and twelve feet long, by four hundred and twenty-three broad; but the multitude of pillars injures the general effect; and the erection of an altar in the centre, where nothing was ever intended to be, destroys its unity as a mosque, without substituting any of the grandeur of a Christian temple. There is one beautiful Moorish relic however, which, of itself, well repays a visit to this curious remain of other and brighter days. This is the chapel of Mahomet, which was accidentally laid open in the year 1815, by the removal of some old brick-work. It is in the most perfect state of preservation. The Arabic characters upon the cornices, and the colours in which these are inscribed, are as perfect and as vivid as if it were all the work of yesterday. The gilding too, and the mosaic, have lost nothing of their freshness. Close by the mosque, upon a stone platform above the river, there is a monument to the angel Raphael, the guardian angel of the city. A certain devout archbishop, who held the see of Cordova many years ago, dreamt that the angel Raphael appeared to him, and declared himself guardian of the city; and the archbishop commemorated his dream by the erection of a handsome monument. Such expensive dreams have gone out of fashion now-a-days.